How About 'Samoa' Fair Trade?

Friends. It's Girl Scout Cookie season and as I type this, there are a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies sitting in my freezer unable to be eaten by yours truly. Why not? Well, you may remember my Lenten promise of no non-Fair Trade chocolate and by the looks of the calendar, Lent is going on for another four weeks. Oh. Dear. Granted, I have been able to enjoy some great Fair Trade chocolate available out there, but those who know me know I love those Girl Scout Tagalong Peanut Butter Patties and alas, they are not made with Fair Trade chocolate. I diligently did my research snooping around about Girl Scout Cookies and Fair Trade chocolate and found this on their FAQ page.

Q: Does the chocolate used in Girl Scout Cookies come from a free fair trade zone or is it from cacao beans picked by children? (Editor's note: They mislabeled 'fair' for 'free' so I changed it.)

A: While tracing farming practices is very difficult and the problems identified with it very complex, our licensed bakers continue to assure us that they are working with their main suppliers of chocolate and with the Chocolate Manufacturer's Association (CMA), of which both licensed bakers are members, on the issues of slavery and abusive child labor as it relates to the production and purchase of chocolate. The chocolate suppliers and the CMA strongly condemn the use of slavery and abusive labor practices. Their goal is to support the governments and advocacy groups that will make a difference in the lives of the cacao farmers as well as to give assurances to consumers that the cocoa has been farmed under appropriate working conditions.

So it seems they are in the 'let's hope it's fairly traded cocoa' camp. I did some further research and was surprised to see that there have not been any moves/strong encouragement to have Girl Scout Cookies made with fairly traded cocoa that does not use abusive labor practices. For me, the Girl Scout principle of young women working toward empowerment and making the world a better place are in line with that of Fair Trade that aims to empower millions (namely women and young girls) in order for them to make a better world for themselves. I'm just sayin'!

So, I may get some flack for this in saying that we should shake up a longtime institution's cookie selling ways, but I encourage the Girl Scouts to look into Fair Trade in the manufacturing of your cookies. Two girls in Michigan have already protested and refused to sell Girl Scout cookies due to the palm oil ingredient that was destroying an endangered species' habitat, there must be some Girl Scouts out there who can take up the same protest in favor of Fair Trade and have a serious drive to see the cocoa used to be certified Fair Trade and slave-free. I'm just sayin'!